


Lullaby

by Tante_Kuka



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Mentioned Cole Anderson, Sad Hank
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-07-01 02:02:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15764340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tante_Kuka/pseuds/Tante_Kuka
Summary: Hank had a secret which he had only shared with his son Cole. And he didn't think he'd ever be able to share it with anyone else...





	Lullaby

**Author's Note:**

> Another short story for you. Can be read as both platonic or romantic relationship, whichever you prefer.

Hank had a secret.

Well, actually he had many secrets, because he prefered keeping most things to himself. Being a depressed old police officer who'd lost most of what he had ever held dear does that to you.

But he had one very closely kept, very personal secret. The only person who had known about it had been Cole, because his son had been the only one Hank had felt comfortable to share it with. And Cole had loved it.

Another reason why Hank had never shared it with anyone else.

The memories hurt too much.

Ever since Cole's death, Hank had pushed his secret as far away into the depths of his mind as he could. Not thinking about it had made it easier. Had made him forget about it all over the past years since the tragic day he'd lost his little boy.

But something changed.

Someone had charged into his life, filling it with warmth and laughter and excitement and chaos. A goofy voice and a handsome, young face, far too good to be wasted at Hank's side. And now, sometimes, he could feel his secret slowly bubbling up inside of him. He pushed it down again before it could come out, but it was far closer to the surface than he was comfortable with.

Still, he kept it.

Until one day Connor found out by himself...

~*~

Cole's room had been unused for years now.

For a long time, Hank had not even entered it, too scared of the feelings which would have been evoked inside of him. Even after Connor had come into his life, he had avoided the room at the end of the corridor like it hadn't even existed.

But then Connor had stayed with him, moved in with him, and Hank had decided it was time to move on.

Together they had opened the door to the dusty, dark room.

Everything was still as Hank had left it after his ex-wife had come to collect a few things. Some books, photos and toys to remember their son by. The rest had remained here, like it had been frozen in time.

Hank looked down at the police cars still scattered on the rug, right next to Cole's bed. He had to take a deep breath.

"Hank...?" Of course Connor was right next to him in a second. "We can stop. Or... I can continue by myself if you want..."

"No. No it's... okay. Just gimme a few seconds..."

The android nodded and his LED circled in a steady yellow color.

Hank tried to concentrate on the good feelings, the sweet memories instead of the dark ones. The way Cole had smiled at him every time they had played in his room, the way Cole had listened to his dad reading him bedtime stories or the way Cole would fall into a deep, quiet sleep whenever-

Hank coughed and shook his head.

"Let's just start..." He looked around.

This room would soon become their new office, so Hank could do some paperwork at home, but it would also contain a bed for Connor. Connor had said he didn't need to lay down for his recharge mode, but Hank thought it was creepy if he did it sitting up. And Connor deserved better than 'sleeping' on the couch or sharing a bed with Hank, even though they both didn't mind the latter. He was his own person now and deserved his own bed.

"I want to keep some of his stuff", Hank said, pulling one of Cole's favourite books from the shelf. "But we should collect the rest to donate it to some children's hospital or something like that... Maybe someone in the neighbourhood could use the furniture... What about Alice? Have Kara and her family come back from Canada yet? If Alice doesn't mind blue, the stuff would be perfect for her." He'd rather give this to some family he knew than having to throw it away.

Connor smiled. "They'll come back soon, in one or two weeks they've said. I think Alice would love the furniture and Kara and Luther will be glad they don't have to buy everything. A house for them, Ralph and the Jerrys is expensive enough without having to go furniture shopping."

Hank nodded. "Okay... Send them a message for me, will ya?"

Together they put everything Hank wanted to keep neatly into boxes, while the rest went into huge bags.

After a few hours Hank had to take a break though, his back protesting from having to bend down constantly. So he sat down in the kitchen, petting Sumo and drinking a lemonade, leaving Connor to continue in Cole's old room.

"Hank?", came the android's voice through the hallway, a few minutes after Hank had gone to the kitchen..

"Yeah?"

"Here's some kind of... huge audio device. What should I do with it?"

Hank raised an eyebrow. Audio device...? Oh! "That's an old cassette player! The thing must be an antique by now..." Cole had always struggled with CDs, the disks being so easily scratched, and Hank didn't like MP3s so he had given him this old thing instead. It had worked for himself when he had been young and it had worked for his son. Not everything had to be modern. "Put some new batteries in it and test if it works. If it does, we'll keep it."

He heard Connor rummaging around, obviously looking for batteries. Hank just smiled and scratched Sumo behind the ears. "We'll get you a new dog bed when the room's done", he said to his furry friend, "What do you say? Some fancy shit for you old boy." Sumo just wagged his tail and pressed his head against Hank's hand.

"Hank? What do I have to do to start it? I can't interface with it!", Connor called from the other room and Hank fondly rolled his eyes. Androids, the masterpieces of technology, bested by an old analog machine.

"You just have to press one of the huge buttons at the top", Hank said, "It should have a single triangle on it."

"Ah... I see..."

Hank smiled, but his face fell, when music started to waft through the house.

The soft melody of a lullaby.

"Fuck!"

Hank leaped up, running to Cole's room to try and stop it, but he was too late. Just as he reached the open door, a deep, gentle voice filled the room.

Hank's own voice, a few years younger, singing a soft lullaby for his son.

Fuck.

Connor sat in front of the old cassette player, listening enraptured to the song.

"O-okay, it works. Stop the cassette, Connor! Just press the button with the square on it", Hank said, feeling torn between embarrassment and sadness.

Connor looked up, but he did not stop the cassette. "That's your voice...", he said softly. Connor did not even have to use his audio detection skills. Hank's voice was easy to distinguish. "You're singing. I... I didn't know you could."

Hank grumbled and knelt down. He reached for the cassette player to turn the music off, but Connor pulled the machine closer to himself, out of Hank's reach. "What is this song?", the android asked, hugging the cassette player to his chest like the greatest treasure he had ever encountered.

With a sigh, Hank sat down on the ground.

"It's a lullaby... for Cole", he answered, cheeks still red and chest constricted painfully at the memory. "Cole loved it when I sang to him, so I recorded some lullabies for him. For when I had to go to work in the evening, leaving him with his babysitter or his mom.

Connor's eyes were wide in awe. Hank's voice still filled the room with music.

"I have never heard you sing before. You have a very gentle voice when you sing... Why don't you do it more often?"

"Because it's embarrassing! I like singing, but I don't like hearing my own voice. And Cole has always been the only one I've sung for...." Even though he loved singing. He had always enjoyed it more than anything else and he had been so happy every time Cole had asked him to sing something for him.

Yes, the big bad cop who listened to heavy metal loved singing. Especially lullabies for his son. He had made sure no one knew, not even his ex-wife. Usually he didn't care what other people thought of him, but he'd always been insecure about singing.

"Oh..." Connor seemed disheartened at hearing that. He obviously tried to understand what it meant for Hank, having sung for his son and not being able to do it anymore. The android still did not know everything about emotions, but he was a quick learner.

"From what you've told me about Cole... he would probably be sad that you've stopped singing", Connor finally said after a few seconds of silence, looking at the cassette player in his arms. "You both loved it after all..."

Hank sighed. He reached over and finally managed to press the button which made the song end abruptly.

"There's no point in doing something I loved doing for him if I can't share it with him anymore..."

He stood up and held out a hand for Connor. "Let's call it a night.... We've done enough for today. Wanna watch a movie and cuddle up to Sumo?"

~*~

A few days passed.

They had cleared out most of the room besides the furniture and had allowed themselves a quiet sunday before going back to work on monday. Which did not help much when the first case they had that week was so exhausting, they both felt like they needed another weekend right now, or in Hank's case maybe a drink.

They were used to gruesome crime scenes, but some things were just too much for an early monday morning...

When they came home that day, Connor didn't even complain when Hank went straight to the fridge and took out a beer, while Connor himself sat down next to Sumo and buried his face in the Saint Bernard's soft fur.

Later they tried to distract themselves with another movie night and it did somewhat work for Hank, who had more experience with tough days at work than Connor. The android on the other hand felt restless, haunted by the pictures of today's case.

"Stop fidgeting", Hank grouched as they lay in bed a few hours later.

Connor tried to hold his hands still, but he could not stop worrying the seam of his shirt between his fingers. "Sorry... I just.... I can't slip into recharge mode. I don't know why...", he sighed, "My processor does not calm down..."

"The day has been rough. It's normal to not be able to go to sleep after something like that, but you have to. Just try to relax..."

"I... don't think I can. Not yet..." Connor slowly sat up, obviously not feeling like relaxing. "Sorry for keeping you awake, Hank. I'll go back to the living room and try to distract myself a bit more."

Hank knew he should have let Connor go. But even though he did have more experience with days like these, it did affect him too. He did not want to be left alone now.

"Wait, Connor..."

He stopped the android with a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back onto his half of the bed. Hank already knew his bed would feel much too big and empty when Connor's new bed arrived.

He didn't want to be alone anymore.

And... he didn't have to, he suddenly realised as Connor looked back at him. He wasn't alone and he would never be alone again if he did not want to. He had someone by his side, someone who was willing to help him get over the past while still cherishing it, who was willing to help Hank put his life back in order and live again.

Someone worth sharing secrets with.

Hank looked into soft brown eyes and slowly wrapped his arm around Connor, until the android's head was pillowed on his chest.

"Just relax and close your eyes."

Connor looked up at him with a puzzled expression but after a moment he closed his eyes and relaxed against Hank's big warm body, a hand on his human's chest, where he could feel his heartbeat and the movement of his breath.

Hank allowed himself to enjoy this for a few seconds.

Then he opened his mouth. And he started singing, soft and deep.

"The moon has been arising,   
the stars in golden guising  
adorn the heavens bright."

Hank's voice softly filled the room. He could feel Connor stiffen in surprise at first, but then the android melted against him and Hank could have sworn he felt Connor smiling against his chest.

"The woods stand still in shadows,  
and from the meads and meadows  
lift whitish mists into the night."

His fingers stroked Connor's soft brown hair and Hank felt himself relax more and more.

"The world in stillness clouded  
and soft in twilight shrouded,  
so peaceful and so fair."

When Hank's eyes closed, he heard the soft whirring sound of Connor going into recharge mode, nestled against his side.

"Just like a chamber waiting,  
where you can rest abating  
the daytime's mis'ry and despair."

He smiled softly as he slowly fell asleep.

Maybe he could enjoy singing again, now that he had a loved one to sing for again.

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact: I have never sung a lullaby for anyone :/ My nephews weren't huge fans of music as babies... But I did read bedtime stories for them!


End file.
